This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 1 ​

CMMN-O202 | Game as Art | F20 ​ ​

Prof. Myers | Office: Monroe 308 [avl online only] | [email protected] ​ ​

COURSE DESCRIPTION [Loyola Catalog] ​ This course examines the aesthetics of media use, with special emphasis given to interactive experiences with digital media. Students examine classic and contemporary theories of media, cognition, and social behavior to better understand play and entertainment within a mass-mediated society.

This is a Loyola Core course meeting the Creative Arts & Cultures (O) requirement. ​ ​

This class is online only.

REQUIRED TEXT(S) None required for purchase. Readings listed in the class schedule are available online -- check the class Canvas site.

COURSE GOALS (ACC & SCOE) Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to... ● Describe games as aesthetic objects using an appropriate vocabulary and associated concepts. [week 1] ● Summarize scholarly game analyses. [week 2] ● Compare and contrast scholarly game analyses. [week 2] ● Identify the interactive components of games. [week 3] ● Describe how game play is affected by the game medium. [week 3] ● Identify game genres. [week 4] ● Describe how genre analysis applies to the study of games. [week 4] ● Identify narrative structures in games.[weeks 5-6] ● Analyze the effects of interactive media on narrative structures in games. [weeks 5-6] ● Compare and contrast the aesthetic analysis of games with the social scientific study of game effects. [week 7] ● Critically analyze games as intentional, expressive, and representational forms. [week 8]

EXPECTED STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME (School of Mass Communication) ● Demonstrate the ability to think critically, creatively and independently [to be evaluated in short answer/essay assignments].

ASSIGNMENTS (see the class Canvas site for detailed instructions) ​ ● 40% | Three short answer/essay assignments, equally weighted. ● 60% | Weekly online assignments, including discussion board postings and replies.

CALENDAR A detailed schedule of class readings and assignments is available in this document and online at the class Canvas site.

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

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BASIS/CRITERIA FOR ASSIGNING COURSE GRADE All major assignments will be given a letter grade. Percentage equivalents are below.

A 92.5% and above A- 90%-92.5% B+ 87.5% - 90% B 82.5% - 87.5% B- 80%-82.5% C+ 77.5% - 80% C 72.5% - 77.5% C- 70%-72.5% D+ 67.5% - 70% D 60% - 67.5% F below 60%

Important note: The scale above is an absolute scale. Final grades may be curved to reflect a more normal distribution.

Discussion board posts will be graded on their timeliness, content, accuracy, and logic and clarity of expression (including grammar and style). Grading rubrics are provided on the class Canvas site.

Short answer/essay assignments will be graded according to these same criteria and on how well the papers reflect, organize, and analyze class readings and discussions. More detailed grading rubrics can be found on the class Canvas site.

Grades are posted on Canvas. Check your grades often. Let the professor know if you are missing grades for any completed assignment.

GENERAL CLASS POLICIES ● I strongly discourage turning in assignments late -- except under the most extraordinary of circumstances. No assignment will be accepted if turned in more than one week after its original due date. Unexcused late assignments turned in less than one week after their original due date will receive no grade higher than a D. ● If you fail to complete more than 20% of the graded assignments, you may fail the course for that reason ​ alone. ​ ● Should mistakes be made in recording grades, corrections are made only upon notification regarding the ​ ​ graded assignment(s) in dispute. ● Correct spelling and deadline writing is a required component of writing courses in the SCD. ● Please be aware that any cheating on exams -- or plagiarism on assignments -- is strictly forbidden and will result in failure of that exam and/or assignment. ● You cannot use materials for projects and assignments that are copyrighted by others unless these are used ​ ​ according to Fair Use principles. ​ ​ ● In case of an official Loyola University evacuation, students must check either the instructor’s homepage or an online site to be designated within 48 hours of the beginning of the evacuation period. At that time, this class will continue to be conducted as an online offering either through the Canvas system or other suitable online site. ● All students are required to sign on and to keep up with course assignments within 48 hours of evacuation and routinely check for announcements and course materials associated with each class.

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

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EMERGENCY PROCEDURES ● Students should be familiar with their responsibilities during emergencies, including pre-evacuation and post-evacuation for hurricanes. This information is available on the Academic Affairs website. ​ ​ ​ ● At times, ordinary university operations are interrupted as a result of tropical storms, hurricanes, or other emergencies that require evacuation or suspension of on-campus activities. To prepare for such emergencies, all students will do the following during the first week of classes:

1. Practice signing on for each course through Canvas. 2. Provide regular and alternative email address and phone contact information to each instructor.

● In the event of an interruption to our course due to the result of an emergency requiring an evacuation or suspension of campus activities, students will:

3. Pack textbooks, assignments, syllabi and any other needed materials for each course ad bring during an evacuation/suspension 4. Keep up with course work during the evacuation/suspension as specified on course syllabi and within online courses. 5. Complete any reading and/or writing assignments given by professors before the emergency began.

● Assuming a power source is available....

6. Log on to the Loyola University Web site within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension. 7. Monitor the main university site (www.loyno.edu) for general information. ​ ​ 8. Log on to each course through Canvas or other suitable system within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc. 9. Complete Canvas and/or other online assignments posted by professors (students are required to turn in assignments on time during the evacuation/suspension period and once the university campus has reopened.) 10. Contact professors during an evacuation/suspension (or as soon as classes resume on campus) to explain any emergency circumstances that may have prevented them from completing expected work.

● Further information about student responsibilities in emergencies is available on the Academic Affairs web site: http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities ​

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

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DISABILITY STATEMENT Please note that before any accommodations can be implemented, you must obtain an official Course Accommodation Record from Disability Services. Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first be registered with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) to verify the disability and to establish eligibility for accommodations. If you perceive disability-related barriers in a course, please let the ODS know immediately. ODS welcomes your feedback that will assist in improving the usability and experience for all students. Loyola is committed to offering classes that are inclusive in their design. ODS contact information is as follows:

Marquette Hall, Room 112 504-865-2990 (front office) [email protected]

OTHER STUDENT RESOURCES In addition to this syllabus and the specific resources provided for this class, you may also find these more general guides helpful.

● For Students Using Canvas: Help ● University Policies & Assistance for Students

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

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Game as Art | weekly readings and assignments >>> check online class site for all final and updated online class formats and requirements <<<

Week 1 | DEFINITIONS: Game & Art | Rules, goals, oppositions, references, lusory attitude ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Introductory post [Student Lounge] Are games art? Why? What’s a specific example? [150 words or less]

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Juul (2003) Myers (2017), and Suits (1967), select a familiar game and give an example of the rules, goals, oppositions (i. e., conflicts), and references within that game. Do not use the same game example as someone else!

Readings | Juul, J. 2003. The game, the player, the world: Looking for a heart of gameness. DIGRA. ​ ​ ​ ​ Myers, D. 2017. Chapter 6. Games are not. ​ ​ Adajian, T. 2018. The definition of art. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ​ ​ ​ Suits, B. 1967. What is a game? Philosophy of Science. ​ ​ ​ ​

Playings/Watchings What is a game?

Week 2 | Competitive games & sports | Is chess play an art?

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point for assigned rebuttal, 1 point for rebuttal reply ​ After reading the assigned articles (two sample debates), each student will be assigned either a pro or con position to defend online through a series of discussion board posts and replies.

Readings | Debate 1 Humble, P. N. 1993. Chess as an art form. The British Journal of Aesthetics. ​ ​ ​ ​ Ravilious, C. P. 1994. The aesthetic of chess and the chess problem. The British Journal of Aesthetics. ​ ​ ​ ​ Humble, P. N. 1995. The aesthetics of chess: a reply to Ravilious. The British Journal of Aesthetics. ​ ​ ​ ​

Debate 2 Wertz, S. K. 1979. Are sports art forms? The Journal of Aesthetic Education. ​ ​ ​ ​ Best, D. 1980. Art and sport. The Journal of Aesthetic Education. ​ ​ ​ ​ Wertz, S. K. 1984. A response to Best on Art and Sport. The Journal of Aesthetic Education. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Smother of Invention

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 6 ​

Week 3 | Game interactivity | What is media “interactivity”?

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Breslin, Myers, and Smuts and playing one or more of the “sandbox” games listed in the Playings/Watchings for this week, speculate on the difference between games and toys. Describe the game you ​ played. Is that game “really” a game -- or is it “really” a toy? Or both? (Or does it even matter?)

Short essay 1: 500 words maximum. Be concise and precise! 4 points total ​ Select a game that has both a digital and non-digital version (eg, Monopoly, Chess, Basketball, Werewolf, etc.). Compare the digital media and the non-digital-media versions in terms of rules, goals, oppositions, and the lusory attitude adopted during playing. Are any of these aspects of the game significantly different in the two versions? And, if so, are these necessarily different -- that is, are digital media and non-digital-media games always going to ​ ​ ​ ​ be somehow significantly different? (No penalty for choosing the same example game as someone else.)

Logic, grammar and clarity matter more than the reference style you choose to adopt; however, try to adhere to the reference style here >>> style guide. ​ ​

Readings | https://youtu.be/w9ffXU0oDYY Breslin, S. 2009. The history and theory of sandbox gameplay. Gamasutra. ​ ​ ​ ​ Myers, D. 2017. Chapter 7. Games are not. ​ ​ Smuts, A. 2009. What is interactivity? The Journal of Aesthetic Education ​ ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Water Ragdoll 2 The Johnny Cash Project FlockDraw

Week 4 | ANALYSIS: Game genres | Is art a genre? ​ ​

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Bordwell (2002) and playing (or watching the playing of) the games listed in the Playings/Watchings ​ for this week, speculate on the “art game” as a separate game genre. Answer these three related questions in your post: are these games games?; are these games art?; if you had to assign these games to a genre (drawn from Wolf (2003), which would you choose?

Readings | Bordwell, D. 2002. The art cinema as a mode of film practice. The European Cinema Reader. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Chandler, D. 2000. Introduction to genre theory. ​ ​ ​ Wolf, M. (ed.) 2003. Chapter 6. The medium of the video game. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Passage Freedom Bridge Desert Bus All’s Well That Ends Well

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 7 ​

Week 5 | Games & narratives, Part 1 | Ludology vs. narratology

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Caracciolo (2009) and the summary of Herman’s four narrative criteria (AND playing Colossal Cave), ​ ​ describe how Colossal Cave does (or does not) satisfy (at least one of) Herman’s criteria ​ ​

Readings | Carraciolo, M. 2009. Review of Basic elements of narrative. Cognitive Philology. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Herman, D. 2009. [slides] Basic elements of narrative. ​ ​ ​ ​ Koenitz. H. 2018. Narrative in video games. Ryan, M-L 2006. Chapter 8. Avatars of story. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

supplemental Jerz, D. 1999. Interactive fiction: Foundational works. [also here] ​ ​ ​ ​ Koenitz, H. 2018. What game narrative are we talking about? Arts. ​ ​ ​ ​ Montfort, N. 2003. Twisty little passages. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Colossal Cave >>> playable in browser | walkthru1 | walkthru2 | walkthru3 | map ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Week 6 | Games & narratives, Part 2 | Ludonarrative dissonance.

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Myers (2017) -- and viewing the accompanying slides -- examine closely the narrator voices in Bastion (2011) and The Stanley Parable (2013). ​ ​ ​

Explain how the narrator's "voice" in the two games might either enhance or distract from the experience of game play.

In your analysis, consider both the initial effect of the narrator voices (i. e., during a single play-through) and the effect of the narrator voices during repeated play (i. e., when you begin to hear and recognize the same phrases over and over again).

Short essay 2: 500 words maximum. Be precise and concise! 4 points total ​ Play The Stanley Parable (Wreden, 2013). Then, evaluate The Stanley Parable using Ryan’s (2006) concept of ​ ​ ​ ​ “narrativity” (discussed in week 5):

Does the game possess “narrativity”? Is The Stanley Parable a “machine for generating stories”? Why or why not?

In your evaluation, be sure to address the following: What is the nature of player agency in The Stanley Parable? If ​ ​ ​ ​ -- i. e., according to Bordwell (2002) -- storytelling is “all about control,” then who is in control while you are playing The Stanley Parable? Do any of your choices while playing the game generate a game “story”? Or is there ​ ​ ​ ​ too much ludonarrative dissonance (discussed in week 6) for that to happen? Why or why not? ​ ​

Readings | https://youtu.be/rwJgGCh2OSo Bordwell, D. 2009. Now leaving from platform 1. Observations on film art. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 8 ​

Juul, J. 2001. A brief note on games and narratives. Game Studies. ​ ​ ​ ​ Myers, D. 2017. Chapter 4. Games are not. ​ ​ Strawson, G. 2004. Against narrativity. Ratio. ​ ​ ​ ​

supplemental Hocking, C. 2007. Ludonarrative dissonance in Bioshock. click nothing. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Bastion The Stanley Parable; alternative1; playthrough; flowchart ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Week 7 | The social scientific study of games

Discussion Board: 4 points total | 2 points for original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After reading Anderson et al (2010), you might expect that playing Sweatshop (Litteloud, 2011) would teach you to ​ ​ ​ ​ harass and otherwise behave violently toward factory workers. Does it? Use another reading from this week -- or any previous week of this class -- to question Anderson’s conclusion that “exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior.” In brief, with reference to one or more readings for this class, answer this question: When and how is playing violent video games NOT a causal risk factor for violent behavior? ​ ​

Readings | Anderson, C.A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N, Swing, E. L, Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A., Rothstein, H. R., & Saleem, M. 2010. Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern ​ ​ and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin. ​ ​ ​ Gee, J. 2003. What videogames have to teach us about literacy and learning. New York: Palgrave ​ ​ Macmillan. Lange, A. 2014. How players engage with moral choice systems. Journal of Game Criticism. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Myers, D. 2017. Chapter 5. Games are not. [slides] ​ ​ ​ ​ U.S. Supreme Court. 2011. Brown v Entertainment Merchants Association. [Alito opinion] ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Oregon Trail Sweatshop, alt ​ ​

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 9 ​

Week 8 | Are games art? Feedback & reflection

Discussion Board: 8 points total | 2 points for each original post, 1 point per reply | see rubric ​ After finishing the readings for this class, respond to TWO of the questions below with reference to one or more of the class readings (in EACH of the two responses):

● Can ALL games (potentially) be art, or can only one sort of game be art? For instance, in order to be art must a game contain a message or meaning? In order to be art, must a game be non-competitive? If only one sort of game can be art, then what are the characteristics of a game that can NEVER be art? ● Who is the “artist” of a game that is art? Is this artist the game designer, the game player, or somebody (or something) else? ● What happens when you REPLAY a game that is art? Is this game ALWAYS art everytime you play it? ● If a game is art, then is that game art for ALL PEOPLE? Or, do you have to have special characteristics in order to recognize a game that is art? For instance, do you have to play the game that is art WELL in order to recognize it as art?

Final short answer/essay: 500 words maximum per question. Be precise and concise! 1000+ words is too long! 8 ​ points total Answer the other two questions (i.e., the questions you did NOT answer in your discussion board posts)..

Readings | https://youtu.be/LhfYqO0mJ4s Ebert, R. 2010. Video games can never be art. Roger Ebert's Journal. ​ ​ ​ Smuts, A. 2005 Are video games art? Contemporary Aesthetics. ​ ​ ​

supplemental Ebert, R. 2007. Game vs art: Ebert vs. Baker. Roger Ebert's Journal. ​ ​ ​ Parker, F. (2018). Roger Ebert and the Games-as-Art Debate. Cinema Journal. ​ ​ ​ Pedercini, P. 2015. The great art upgrade. Website. ​ ​

Playings/Watchings Are video games art? YouTube. ​ ​ ​ The great art upgrade. Website. ​ ​ ​

This syllabus and schedule may be updated during the semester. Check here for the latest updates. ​ ​ ​

Game as Art | Online Syllabus F20 | p. 10 ​

Game list/links

● GAME | Atari classic games (polished) [Lunar Lander; Asteroids; Missile Command] ​ ​ ● GAME | Bastion ​ ● GAME | Civilization [free version] ​ ​ ● GAME | classic arcade games (variety) [Galaga; Mortal Kombat; Frogger] ​ ​ ● GAME | Colossal Cave ​ ● GAME | Freedom Bridge ​ ● GAME | Game of Life ​ ● GAME | Hammurabi ​ ● GAME | historical platform games (variety) [Akalabeth] ​ ​ ● GAMES | http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/ [Ancient Greek Punishment; All’s Well That Ends Well; ​ ​ Game Studies] ● GAME | Hunt the Wumpus ​ ● GAME | Kingdom of Loathing ​ ● GAME | Madrid ​ ● GAME | Marriage (Win only) ​ ​ ● GAME | Monopoly ​ ● GAME | Oregon Trail [ss] ​ ​ ● GAME | Passage (Win/Mac/Unix) ​ ​ ● GAME | Pong orig ​ ​ ● GAME | September 12 ​ ● GAME | Spacewar! Emulator ​ ● GAME | Sweatshop ​ ● GAME | Stanley Parable ​